Things I Am Struggling With Lately

Running is amazing.

Lately I have been crushing workouts and feeling stronger and faster than ever before. I have been listening to my coach and it has been paying off. But that doesn’t mean that everything goes perfectly all the time.

This past weekend, I ran a 5 KM race (and I will share the fill recap on Friday) and I was very disappointed with my execution. I ran a personal best, but I was ashamed of how I got there.

I am a smarter athlete than the way I raced and I am picking up the pieces and attacking it again next weekend at the Laurier Loop.

Last night, I had a disappointing workout where the fatigue was still in my legs and I was doing my intervals on rolling hills instead of on a flat track. The combination of hills and fatigued legs caused me to miss my paces and put me again, in a negative head space.

I needed to stop and check myself. If I don’t put a stop to the negative thoughts of not being able to reach my goals, I will start believing I can’t do it. And I can, I know I can.

Here are some of the road blocks I am trying to over come at the moment:

Poor pacing

I am brand new to this short distance world and it is a whole different ball game. I find that I get excited and go out too quickly and I need to learn that slow and steady wins the race. I want to master the art of the negative split for short distances. This requires a lot of trust in myself which means simulating this in training. Lots of work to do but I know I can do it.

Negative head space

It is easy to get caught in the fact that my pacing isn’t ideal right now and that I have so much to learn, but I am focusing on the facts that I am still new to all of this.

Treadmill training vs track training

With the winter weather causing me to run indoors to stay safe and the fact that track workouts were causing my shin to flare up, I’ve been doing a lot of speed work on the treadmill. There is nothing wrong with this, but it is also easier that dealing with elements outdoors which can make race day more difficult.

I guess what I am trying to say is that sometimes it is good to pull back the curtain and show that there is no such thing as a perfect training cycle. If you are growing as an athlete, there will always be obstacles to overcome and these are some of mine lately as I am discovering the new running world of shorter distances.

As I was running back to my apartment after the workout that left me defeated, I had a moment where I was hit with a complete and utter love of just running. This is why I do this and what helps push me through the rough patches. And tomorrow is a brand new day and I have another interval workout to attack this week for redemption.

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Comments

My advice (not that you were looking for any 😉 ) is to remember to be kind to yourself! There is definitely a learning curve when you move from long to short distances – it is a whole different kind of beast!

I definitely struggle with pacing because I too get excited at the gun and typically go out too early. It’s all about practice! My coach often has us simulate races during workouts whether it is in pacing to practice maintaining a goal pace or even the mental practice of staying out of the negative headspace (which I find particularly destructive during a race)

Right now I am just struggling with getting my fitness back. I have had a few injuries over the last 10 months that have either minimized or prevented my training. So I guess the bigger struggle right now is trying to figure out which combination of running/strength training is right for my body. And listening to my body rather than my ego 😉

ALWAYS looking for solid feedback from readers, Jes! Kind to myself is something that I focus on but sometimes is easier said than done when you are a perfectionist! 🙂
I think the key with pacing is practice, practice, practice.
Listening to your body rather than your ego is easier said than done…

Training is going well! I am just taking a little bit of extra rest this week to get my fight back and I will be back stronger than before!

I wouldn’t beat yourself up, look at any of the scientific calculations and the pacing range is usually 10 seconds. That’s all well and good when the range is 4:50/km to 5:00/km for easy pace, but when you get down to 5k paces and the range is 3:35-3:45 then I’m going to say that it’s very rare that people pace the perfect 5k most of the time. Add the fact that it’s really only in the last few hundred metres of the KM that you really know what pace you are doing (GPS ain’t good at speed) then being a further 5 seconds off your range is easily done.

Wow – I didn’t expect to read this from you….read the words you are using here -“disappointing”, “ASHAMED”…you are talking about yourself here. And you are talking about running. It always amazes me when people take this sport to the point of letting it them define who they are or if they are ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Running is a PRIVELIGE, not a GIVEN. Not everybody has the same ability or opportunity to do it. A person with an eating disorder or an addict or defines food and drugs and themselves in similar words and it brings new empathy. I’m not being cold here, I have a family history of all of this myself and understand all too well.

Also, Perfectionism is an excuse to hide behind, an example of the Ego taking over. There is no such thing as perfect and all you have to do is let that s*it go. Hope you are kinder to yourself.

Hey Jen – this was just me giving an unusually candid post. I deal with the same issues as everyone else and although I desire to inspire, I also want to be honest and real. This was a space for that. I didn’t mean to offend you; I do believe running is a gift. I do understand perfect isn’t possible, but I do strive for progress. I hope you can understand. I do truly appreciate your comments though and always welcome any feedback you want to give.

Hi Jessica! Don’t be too hard on yourself! Regarding the poor pacing, a short distance like 5K is different than longer distances (half/ full marathon). I read an article that said starting fast in a 5K race is less problematic than in a long distance race, like the marathon. In a marathon you’ll be punished later on when you start fast, in a 5K less so. I can’t find the link unfortunately, but I hope it helps you. You can adjust after 1K if you think it’s too fast, but don’t worry about taking off too fast!

Trackbacks

[…] A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post that made a number of you a bit upset. I wrote about a race that was a personal best and I followed up that I was ashamed of my performance. This was not a humble brag – I really was not proud of how I raced that day. […]